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If there is an outbreak of a notifiable animal or zoonotic disease, only Defra approved disinfectants can be used to clean and disinfect hard surfaces. Hard surfaces include buildings, farm equipment, crates and vehicles.

You are breaking the law if you market and sell a disinfectant as Defra approved when it has not been tested and listed as approved.

To get your product approved by Defra, it must:

• comply with biocide regulations read the guidance on the HSE website
• pass efficacy tests at a Defra approved laboratory

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) approves disinfectants on behalf of Defra.

This scheme is underpinned by The Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) (England) Order 2007.

The costs are set out in:

• Article 2 and Schedule 1 of The Animal Health (Approved Disinfectants and Animal Gatherings) (Fees) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024 No. 1140
• The Animal Health (Miscellaneous Fees) (Amendment and Revocation) (Wales) order 2024 No. 1109 (W.185)

You will need to follow a different process to get your disinfectant approved for use on fish farms.

Before you apply for approval

You need to decide:

• which categories you want to apply for approval under
• which dilution of your product you want to have tested

Defra and APHA cannot advise you which formulation or dilution will pass the tests, or which categories you should apply for.

Check what is covered under approval for:

• foot and mouth disease The Foot-and-Mouth Disease (England) Order 2006 (in Scotland and in Wales)

• poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals Diseases of Poultry (England) Order 2003 (in Scotland and in Wales) and The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006 (in Scotland and in Wales)

• tuberculosis The Tuberculosis in Animals (England) Order 2021 (in Scotland and in Wales)

The swine vesicular disease category only covers approval of disinfectants for use with swine vesicular disease. Other diseases listed within The Diseases of Swine Regulations 2014 are covered under other notifiable disease requirements, also known as General Orders.

You must make sure your product meets Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards on:

• classification, labelling and packaging
• product safety
• advertising
• the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB-BPR)

You must also inform the National Poisons Information Service.

Apply for disinfectant efficacy testing

To apply for testing, complete the DDA1 application form and email a signed copy to Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

If you have any questions or need to post your form, email disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

APHA will assess your application and decide if your product can be accepted for testing for Defra approval. They aim to reply within 5 working days.

Download details of the APHA efficacy methodologies (PDF, 189 KB, 7 pages)

Submit samples for efficacy testing

If APHA accepts your product for testing, they will tell you where to send your samples and send you an invoice for the tests you want.

Do not submit a sample until APHA asks you to.

See the DDA1 application form for instructions on how to submit samples and packaging labels.

Pay efficacy testing fees

You must pay in advance for testing. You should wait until APHA has assessed and accepted your application and sent you an invoice.

You can pay by bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

All fees are exempt from VAT.

You should receive the results within 12 weeks of submitting your samples. This may take longer during busy times, such as a disease outbreak.

The General Orders category applies if youre legally required to use an approved disinfectant for a notifiable disease not covered by the 4 disease-specific approval categories. It also applies to all other instances where theres a legal requirement to use an appro

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